Automatic analyzer

Abstract

The automatic analyzer includes a sample storage section for accommodating a plurality of samples, a reagent storage section for accommodating a plurality of reagents, an analysis section for carrying out an analysis by reacting the sample with the reagent, a display, a storage section for storing a setting of an operation item to be automatically executed, which is effective only at restarting, and a control section which displays a screen for setting the operation item to be automatically executed upon acceptance of power shutdown operation by an operator during the analysis on the display to accept the setting from the operator, and automatically executes or omits execution of the operation item to be automatically executed, which has been set by the operator in accordance with the setting read from the storage section at the restarting.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An automatic analyzer comprising:
 a sample storage section for accommodating a plurality of sample containers; 
 a reagent storage section for accommodating a plurality of reagents; 
 a sample carrier section configured to move the plurality of sample containers between an analysis section and the sample storage section, wherein each of the plurality of sample containers contains one or more samples, wherein 
 the analysis section is configured to carry out analysis by reacting the one or more samples in each of the plurality of sample containers along the sample carrier section with at least one reagent among the plurality of reagents; 
 a display; 
 a computer coupled to the analysis section, the display and the sample carrier section, the computer programmed to: 
 control the analysis section to analyze one or more reactions between the one or more samples contained in each of the plurality of sample containers along the sample carrier section with the at least one reagent among the plurality of reagents, 
 upon receiving a power off instruction to power off the automatic analyzer and in response to receiving the power off instruction to power off the automatic analyzer, display a screen on the display that enables selection or deselection of each of a plurality of processes to be automatically performed upon powering on the automatic analyzer after the power off of the automatic analyzer, the plurality of processes including a first process of moving any remaining ones of the plurality of sample containers containing the one or more samples in the sample carrier section to the sample storage section and a second process of determining a change of whether an additional reagent container has been newly mounted on the reagent storage section or whether a reagent bottle among the plurality of reagent bottles has been removed from reagent storage section, 
 receiving and storing the selection or deselection of the first process or the second process via the screen, 
 powering off the automatic analyzer, and 
 upon powering on the automatic analyzer after the power off of the automatic analyzer, automatically determine whether the first process was selected via the screen and automatically determine whether the second process was selected via the screen based on the respective stored selection or deselection of the first process and the second process, and automatically execute the first process only if the first process was selected via the screen based on the automatic determination of the first process and automatically execute the second process only if the second process was selected via the screen based on the automatic determination of the second process. 
 
     
     
       2. The automatic analyzer according to  claim 1 , wherein the computer is programmed to:
 power off the automatic analyzer without storing the selection or deselection after an elapse of a predetermined time from display of the screen that enables selection or deselection of each of the plurality of processes.